Back from 2 surgeries, Hopkinton's golfer qualifies for states; Westborough also moves on
SUTTON – Two broken bones, two surgeries, one sweet round.
Hopkinton junior Parker Winn continued his impressive comeback season by shooting the low round at Monday’s Division 1 Central golf championships at picturesque Pleasant Valley Country Club. Winn’s birdie on hole No. 17, his final one for the day, clinched a 1-under-par 71 and qualified him for next Monday’s state tournament at GreatHorse in Hampden.
Westborough was the final team to qualify for states, placing fourth. (The top four advance). Franklin's CJ Steele, who shot a 72, also qualified as an individual.
Winn earlier had made four consecutive birdies, but his tee shot on the final hole landed among the trees bordering a series of houses on the 17th. His approach left him 30 feet away before he drained the putt to complete his round tied with Walpole’s Mike Boland for medalist honors.
“It felt awesome to cap off the round,” Winn said of his final birdie. “A lot of ups and downs and just tried to stay the course. Made some clutch birdies and some clutch putts.”
Hopkinton coach Bill Phaneuf was impressed with Winn’s finishing birdie.
“Especially on number 17,” he said. “I think that’s the hardest hole out here. I did see where his tee shot ended up, so I was surprised to hear about a birdie.”
Winn broke two bones in his left wrist while playing hockey last October. He endured two operations and four months of inactivity before returning to the golf course.
“It was definitely very boring,” Winn said. “I just sat around a lot.”
Two of the teammates from Winn’s club hockey team were close by on Monday: Attleborough’s Dane Holske played in his group; Sharon’s Dylan Cummings was in a group behind them.
Winn made it to states two years ago but has not played GreatHorse. When asked how he expects to fare next week, he said “I’m not quite sure, but it definitely will be a challenge. It should be a treat.”
Phaneuf is confident Winn will play well.
“I expect more of the same,” he said. “He played a lot of good golf all summer. He played well for us. He was always around par for 15 matches. He was medalist in most of them.”
Winn was one of five individual players at Pleasant Valley. His other playing partner, Framingham’s Aidan D’Costa, was as well.
D’Costa, a junior, shot an 88.
“I honestly feel like I could have played so much better,” he said. “I thought it was going to be a hot round after I went par (on the first hole) and everything went downhill from there. But I always have next year.”
‘Total nailbiter’: Westborough qualifies for states
As players crowded around the clubhouse awaiting final results, the team wearing gray jackets and white hats started to believe.
The scores for St. John’s (303) and Westford Academy (306) were shoo-ins for state qualifiers. When Westborough’s 314 was markered in, another week of golf seemed possible for the Rangers.
Brendan Estephan’s 75 was good enough to qualify as one of the top 11 scores, but getting the entire team through would be a bonus.
“I’m not going to lie, at some point during the season, those dreams were not looking too hot,” said Estaphan. “But the boys bounced back and really proved themselves today. We really delivered.”
Westborough finished four strokes ahead of fifth-place Chelmsford to make it to GreatHorse. Concord-Carlisle (312) placed third.
“It was a total nailbiter,” Estaphan said. “We had some good scores, but just because there was so much tough competition here, we really didn’t know what we were going to be up against. As all the scores came in, we realized we were right up there and it ended up working out in our favor.”
“It came down to the wire,” said James Kaminski, who shot a 78. “We got it done in the end. Love it. Get to miss school again.”
Senior Connor McDermott, who carded an 84, was equally pleased to extend the season.
“There’s nothing more I’d rather do than have another week added on to my golf career,” he said.
Aaron Schwartz (79), Brendan Martel (82) and Tyler Nelson (95) rounded out Westborough’s scoring.
“If we just lock it in,” McDermott said of states, “we can do some special things.”
Tim Dumas is a multimedia journalist for the Daily News. He can be reached at tdumas@wickedlocal.com. Follow him on Twitter @TimDumas.
This article originally appeared on MetroWest Daily News: Hopkinton's Parker Winn, Westborough qualify for golf state tournament
